What If?
by EverAfter89
Summary: What if it ended differently? A Jack lives fic. Complete. Please R&R, I could really use the constructive criticism.


What If?

Jack and Rose

The story of Titanic

Rose and Jack floated there for a few moments, stunned at what they were seeing, hearing, experiencing. Thousands of people surrounded them, splashing and screaming for help. The ship was gone. Jack looked her in they eyes"Swim, Rose" he said loudly"I need you to swim" He held onto Rose's life jacket with one hand, so they wouldn't become separated, and used his other hand to help him doggie paddle through the crowds of dying and dead people. Soon, they were a few feet away from the throngs of drowning, and Jack spotted a piece of floating debris. "Come on" he said.

It was part of the Grand Staircase. They recognized it from its intricate carvings. "Go on" Jack said. "Get on it." Rose began to shift her body onto it, followed by Jack. But Jack's weight proved too much for the slab of wood and he didn't try anymore after Rose got on. _If only one of us can survive, it must be Rose. I will let her have it._ Jack thought.

(But what if) "No" Rose cried. "There is room for both of us"

"No, it's okay. I'll be all right…"

"NO! If you don't get on, then I'm getting off. You jump, I jump, right"

"Right" Jack said reluctantly, though he was actually relieved. Rose scooted over a bit and sat hugging her legs, and Jack tried to mount the piece of wood. It took a few tries, but Rose refused to give up. Finally, he was on it.

The young lovers sat together locked in a warm embrace. They were cold, but obviously much warmer than the other 1,500 souls who were dying of hypothermia about now. Rose felt guilty about being warmer than the others, but there was nothing she could do. The two of them could barley fit on the bit of staircase, let alone three or four or 1,500. So they sat alone together.

Rose began to drift off to sleep, but Jack shook her awake. "Don't go to sleep, Rose. When it's this cold out, you may never wake up." Jack seemed to know everything. So they stayed awake by talking about their own private things.

It was getting colder. They could feel it through their wet clothes. "The boats will come back for us, Rose. Hold on just a little longer. They had to row away for the suction and now they'll be coming back" Jack said, his voice full of hope.

"Thank God for you, Jack" Rose said lovingly.

In the background, they heard cries of cold, scared people. "Come back! Please! We know you can hear us. For God's sake" A woman cried.

"Please... help us. Save one life! SAVE ONE LIFE" Another man pleaded. The cries went on and on, and Rose shut her ears to them, not bearing to hear any more, and leaned her head against Jacks broad chest.

Hours past, but then, maybe it was only minutes. Jack and Rose couldn't be sure. The minutes felt like hours, and they just couldn't tell. "It's getting quiet" said Rose.

"Just a few more minutes. It'll take them a while to get the boats organized..." Jack shivered in the cold. He had felt cold before, but not like this—bone-deep. Still, Rose's presence comforted him.

"I don't know about you" Jack said"But I intend to write a strongly worded letter to the White Star Line about all this."

Rose laughed weakly, but it sounded like a gasp of fear. Even curled up against Jack's body, she was still quite cold. _I'm going to die _she thought. She found Jack's eyes in the dim light. "I love you, Jack." She said in a cracked voice. Jack looked into her weak eyes and could tell what she was thinking.

Jack took her hand in his. "Don't you do that." He said"Don't you say your good byes. Not yet."

"I'm so cold" she said, pretending not to have heard.

"You're going to get out of this, Rose... you're going to go on and you're going to make lots of babies… and your gonna watch them grow…You're going to die an old, old lady, warm in your bed. Not here. Not this night. Not like this. Do you understand me"

"I can't feel my body."

"Rose, listen to me. Listen." He was having trouble getting the breath to speak"Winning that ticket was the best thing that ever happened to me." He looked at her fondly and hugged her close. "It brought me to you." He kissed her forehead. "And I'm thankful for that, Rose. I'm thankful."

Rose stared at him for a long moment and kissed him. But Jack pulled away. He knew he had to make her swear she would live. If she said she would, then she would. But she was losing hope, and it was up to him to make it all better.

"You must do me this honor... promise me you will survive... that you will never give up... no matter what happens... no matter how hopeless... promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise." Jack said, his eyes full of love.

"I promise." She whispered, avoiding his eyes.

Jack held her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "Never let go." He said.

"I promise. I will never let go. I'll never let go." She said, and suddenly, her voice was full of strength. Jack began to kiss her, (but what if) but this time she pulled away.

"You have to promise me the same thing." She said. "You will survive, too. You will have children with me. You will never give up hope…promise me."

He smiled. "I promise…and I promise I will never let go." _Now_ they kissed.

Now, floating of the piece of debris, they were past feeling cold. They were numb and didn't feel anything but a swarm of emotions, all new to them. They sang _their_ song quietly together to pass the time:

"_Come Josephine in my flying machine_

_And it's up she goes! Up she goes!_

_In the air she goes. Where? There she goes!_"

Then, Rose felt light shining in her eyes. She looked up. It took her eyes a moment to adjust, but then, she could barley believe it, a lifeboat was floating nearby.

"Jack! A boat" she exclaimed. Jack looked out ahead of him and saw it, too.

"Come back" they shouted"Come back…. COME BACK"

Officer Lowe, who was in the boat, turned around sharply. Jack waved his arms and continued shouting, while Rose struggled to steady their little raft.

They felt the light of his lantern upon them and Officer Lowe yelled"Turn the boat" Minutes later, the tiny boat was beside them and the two tried to enter it without falling back in the water. Rose went first. Jack supported her back and Lowe and another seaman took her hands and she jumped in. The men hurried to cover her with blankets and then Jack tried to get on. Then he began to slip. Rose didn't know how, but her arm instantly reached out and steadied him. Just as he entered the lifeboat, the piece of wood they had been floating on capsized.

"Phew" Rose said"That was close" And Jack leaned in and kissed her, for a moment forgetting about the other people in the boat. When they pulled away, Jack chuckled and Rose blushed. But then she thought _Oh Hell! Who gives a shit?_ And she kissed him again.

Fifteen hundred people went into the sea when Titanic sank from under them. There were twenty boats floating nearby and only one came back. One. (What if) Seven were saved from the water, Jack and Rose included. Seven out of fifteen hundred. Afterwards, the 700 people in the boats had nothing to do but wait…wait to die, wait to live, wait for an absolution, which would never come.

Rose and Jack sat in the lifeboat, next to the other lucky five who had been lifted from the 28-degree water. Despite the fact that they were thrilled to have survived the ordeal, they were both in a state of depression. Who had lived? Who had died? What happens next? They were sleeping in each other's arms, when Lowe's loud yelling woke Rose. She shook Jack awake. At first, he didn't know where he was. Then, the events of the previous night came flooding back to him, and huddled next to her.

They looked around to see what Lowe was yelling about, and then, surrounded by icebergs, Rose made out the name painted on a ship—_Carpathia._ Large but not nearly as large as _Titanic_. Minutes later, their tiny boat was floating next to the ship and a rope ladder was thrown down to help them onto the ship.

When they had gotten on bored safely, Jack spoke briefly with a crewmember. He handed them each a mug of weak hot tea, which they drank greedily, and gave them some new blankets to replace the wet ones they had around their shoulders. A woman noticed Rose and her still wet dress and coat. She took her into a small room and handed her a plain gray dress to replace her other clothes and set them out to dry. Rose then joined Jack again. Another crewmember then approached them. He scanned them briefly and noticed their tattered clothes. He led them to where all the people in steerage people were.

They began to look around for their friends. But Fabrizio, Helga (Fabrizio's girlfriend) and Tommy were no where to be found. Even little Cora and her father, Bert, had died in the sinking. Sitting together amongst the other 700 survivors, Rose gave in to her grief and began to cry uncontrollably.

Jack tried to comfort her"Shhhhhh…Don't worry. Awww, Rose, Everything will be fine, you'll see…"

"I know we will be fine" Rose said through the tears. "But what about everyone else. They think the death toll is around fifteen hundred. _Fifteen hundred_, Jack. Jack, why aren't we dead, too? Why did we survive? It's not fair to everyone else"

Jack was beginning to get all choked up as well. "Rose, I don't know why" he said"You just gotta believe that we lived for a reason. I don't know…because we are meant to be together."

Rose was about tell him that she agreed, when she suddenly spotted Cal Hockley. "_Holy Fucking Shit_" she whispered. Rose became instantly composed as she buried herself in her blanket and motioned for Jack to do the same. But it was too late. Cal spotted Rose. "Stay here." She told Jack as she got up and walked over to Cal who was staring at her as if he had seen a ghost.

"Your…your…your" he began.

"Yes, I lived. How awkward for you."

"And Dawson" he said, referring to Jack.

"What about him" Rose snapped.

"What happened to him"

Rose was a bit confused, but soon it all became clear. _Perfect! Cal doesn't know that Jack is alive. That will make everything a hell of a lot easier!_ "He died" she said in a matter-of-fact sort of way that caught Cal off guard. Rose realized she wasn't being very convincing, so she summoned some tears and began to wail. _Wow. I'm pretty good at this. I should be an actress._

"You're coming with me." Cal said sternly. "Your mother and I have been looking for you." He grabbed her wrists and began to drag her towards the stairs. Rose struggled.

"Don't make me spit on you again" She warned. He released his grip. "I'm not coming with you. I hate you. I will never marry you and I never even want to set my eyes on such a despicable creature as you, you unimaginable bastard." She said calmly.

"Rose…" Cal began. "I love…"

"Please don't. Don't talk. Just listen. We will make a deal, since that is something you understand. From this moment you do not exist for me, nor I for you. You shall not see me again. And you will not attempt to find me. In return I will keep my silence. Your actions last night need never come to light and you will get to keep the honor you have carefully purchased. _Is this in any way unclear_"

Cal knew there was no convincing her. He gave up. "So, what do I tell your mother" he asked.

"Tell her that her daughter died with the _Titanic_." Rose replied. Cal looked very disappointed.

"Your precious to me, Rose" he said, staring at his feet.

"_Jewels _are precious. Goodbye, Mr. Hockley."

"Rose, sweetheart, I can't go on living knowing your going to be homeless and I…well…let me at least give you some money."

"I don't need your pity" Rose said.

"I insist" Cal replied. Rose was about to refuse to take it, but what could it hurt. Money would be useful. So she took the large stack of bills that Cal had taken from his jacket pocket. "Oh, before I forget" he said"May I have my coat back"

Rose wondered why he would need his coat so badly. It was drying by a fire somewhere and Rose didn't feel like looking for it. "I lost it when I was in the water" Rose said.

"Oh well" Cal said"It's insured."

_Why would his coat be insured_? Rose thought, stupidly. "_Goodbye_, Mr. Hockley."

"Goodbye" he muttered as he walked away. Rose wasn't sure, but she thought she heard him mumble"God bless."

"He's gone for good" Rose told Jack when she had returned to his side after Cal had disappeared. "Rose Dewitt Bukater is dead. As for Rose Dawson, well, she is ready and excited to begin her life with you."

"Rose Dawson? I like the sound of that" Jack said before kissing her.

Soon, the statue of liberty came into view. They were almost there…in America. The greatest country on earth. "Boy" Jack said"Fabrizio would have loved this."

Rose tried not to cry as she thought of all the people who would have loved to see the statue. A few minutes later, Jack went off to return their blankets to a crewman. Rose stayed on deck, staring intently at lady liberty. An officer approached her. "May I take your name, please, Love" he asked.

_Shit,_ Rose thought, _I'm cornered. If I give my name, Mother will surly find out that I'm alive and come looking for me._

"Dawson" She said finally"Rose Dawson."

Jack came back to her side and the officer asked for his name. "Oh, it's okay. Someone already took it" Jack lied. _Why didn't I think of that?_ Rose thought. They both knew that no one could know that he had survived. If Cal found out, he would come after him.

Rose was cold and put her hands in Cal's wool coat to warm them. She fingered something smooth and hard. She gripped in and pulled it out. Dumbstruck, she stared at the Heart of the Ocean. Rose got Jack's attention and showed it to him. He just raised his eyebrows and shook his head, as if saying, "Ah, who cares. It's just a rock." Rose smiled and ran to the rail. She looked at Jack who nodded in approval and cast it into the sea, feeling relieved as she watched it sink below.

They got off the ship and headed to their new life.

They got married at sea only days after Carpathia docked. It was beautiful. Their small, intimate wedding took place at the bow of the ship (that was taking them to Santa Monica) where they had had their first kiss. Days later, Rose announced to Jack that she was pregnant. It had happened when they were in the Renault, their first time together. Rose realized that was the reason she had survived. So she could carry that child. Perhaps Jack had survived for the children they would have in the future. And Rose was content with that.

They had a happy life together. They lived in a modest beach house. For some reason, they felt compelled to be near the sea. They had four children together. Their first was a daughter, who they named Molly, after Molly Brown, who they had always been fond of. Molly was followed by Jacob. Then came Cora, who was concived on the beach. After that, Rose and Jack, who were more in love than ever, moved to England, and continued living by the beach. Rose then gave birth to their last child, Ruth. On some level, Rose missed her mother. So Ruth seemed like a fitting name.

The Dawson family was living in England, where Rose felt most at home, when the depression came. They were unharmed by it. But Cal, as Rose read, put a pistol in his mouth that year.

Rose and Jack never stopped loving each other. They were so in love, it was almost embarrassing to their children, whom they were both very close to.

Rose made a friend, also named Rose. They became very close and Rose Dawson told her story of how she met Jack to Rose Calvert. Years later, Rose Calvert went insane and convinced herself that she was Rose Dawson. She told the story to anyone who would listen, only she changed it so that Jack died (the story was more effective that way). 84 years after the sinking, the insane Rose Calvert even told the story to a group of men who were studying Titanic. They believed her.


End file.
